Zach Lavine hasn’t had the best of seasons coming off knee surgery in the offseason, but he put in a monstrous performance against the 76ers last night, joining Steph Curry on an exclusive list.
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Lavine and the Bulls have had a weird year in general. The narrative for the Bulls last year was that although they were winning a lot of games and were in the playoffs, they weren’t really a threat because they couldn’t beat the big teams. The Bulls had a strong losing record against the top 4-5 teams in the Eastern Conference.
It showed in the playoffs as the Milwaukee Bucks bounced the Bulls in 5 games without much resistance. This year, the team has completely flipped the narrative.
Against the Nets, Celtics, Bucks, Heat, and 76ers, the Bulls are a combined 9-2. Unfortunately, they’ve struggled to close out the close games like they did last year, and further, they’re losing games to teams they should beat. Nevertheless, the Bulls can go on a run and close the season out strong to make it back to the playoffs.
Zach Lavine joins Stephen Curry in an exclusive list with historic shooting night
The Bulls’ biggest stars remain DeMar DeRozan and Zach Lavine. Lavine was given a max contract this offseason, and while he continues to recover from surgery, he’s still showing that he can be one of the most prolific scorers in the league.
Last night, Lavine dropped 41 points against the 76ers, and he was highly efficient while doing so. He started the night off by drilling 8 straight threes.
In the end, he finished shooting 11/13 from the three-point line. That mark is important because it puts him on a list with the greatest shooter of all time.
Lavine has been one of the best shooters in the league during the past two years. He’s consistently finished shooting at splits of 50/40/80, and yesterday’s game was a reminder of what he can do when he’s at his best.
Can the Bulls still make the playoffs?
With the win, the Bulls pull to 19-21 on the year. They currently sit at 9th place in the league., squarely in the play-in tournament. However, in their last 10 games, the Bulls are 7-3.
They’re starting to find their stride, and with a little more consistency, it’s definitely possible for Chicago to climb further up the ladder.
